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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27201917">The Troublemakers</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cherries_Jubilee/pseuds/CherriesJubilee'>CherriesJubilee (Cherries_Jubilee)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Overwatch (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blackwatch Ashe, Blackwatch Era, Blackwatch Genji Shimada, Blackwatch Jesse McCree, Blackwatch Moira O'Deorain, Blackwatch Reaper | Gabriel Reyes, Multi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 08:15:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,057</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27201917</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cherries_Jubilee/pseuds/CherriesJubilee</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Ashe had been recruited to Blackwatch?</p><p>Essentially, Blackwatch, now with more dumbasses.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Elizabeth Caledonia Ashe &amp; Genji Shimada, Elizabeth Caledonia Ashe &amp; Jesse McCree, Elizabeth Caledonia Ashe/Angela "Mercy" Ziegler, Jesse McCree &amp; Genji Shimada, Jesse McCree &amp; Reaper | Gabriel Reyes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>36</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She remembered the day she met Gabriel Reyes. Staring him down in the interrogation room, plotting an escape like the dumb kid she was. He told her she’d been betrayed by that-bastard-Ethan as he became known.</p>
<p>Without any other options, considering people she considered her family had ditched her at the first whiff of danger, she accepted the invitation to join Overwatch. More specifically, Blackwatch. Blackwatch was more her speed, I afraid to dirty their hands in order to set things straight. As much disdain as she had for the law and following rules, she was willing to set that aside for two reasons: Purpose and McCree.</p>
<p>McCree was her only family. Not by blood, mind you, but by choice. He was the first and only person to ever give a damn about her well-being instead of how she could best serve his interests. They may as well have been siblings. Ashe was more than willing to go to any measure to protect him. Although, if they both managed to escape with their lives, she would not hesitate to relentless tease him about it for months.</p>
<p>They joined Blackwatch and walked into the base for the first time as wide-eyes recruits. It was exhilarating and nauseating. Reyes told them that their first day of training was tomorrow at 6 a.m. sharp.</p>
<p>Ashe, the insufferable combination of a night owl and an early bird, showed up right on time. McCree showed up at 6:45 with the excuse of “I got lost.” The training area was less than a minute walk from the barracks. She wasted no time before snarking at him about it.</p>
<p>There were two other recruits, two guys named Something and Something Else. Ashe forgot instantly, deciding that she didn’t particularly care. Reyes instructed them to run two miles in laps as warm-up, and Ashe took that as a challenge to be first.</p>
<p>It became clear that Blackwatch was a good fit for her. Her shockingly good aim defied the bad eyesight gifted to her by albinism, and she was tough enough to handle Blackwatch’s intensive training. Reyes pulled her and McCree aside after the first few weeks.</p>
<p>“Of the recruits, you two are the strongest and best. I’m putting together a special ops team, led by me, and I want you two.” He informed them in hushed tones.</p>
<p>Ashe beamed and folded her arms. “I’m in.”</p>
<p>“I’m in, too.”</p>
<p>“Perfect.” Reyes grinned and pushed them back towards training. “Don’t tell the other two just yet.”</p>
<p>He probably could have left that last bit out, because now Ashe knew she had the advantage. She did what she does when she has something other people wanted, and boasted about it to the other cadets. And thus, Elizabeth Caledonia Ashe sparked the first ever Blackwatch Cadet Brawl, involving her punching the lights out of Something and McCree having to wrestle Something Else off of her. Reyes came in and slammed the door, his booming voice echoing off the metal walls. “What the hell happened in here?”</p>
<p>Something Else had loosened McCree’s grip enough to yell, “Elizabeth told us about the elite team!”</p>
<p>“You heard that but you didn’t hear me specifically tell you I’d throw hands if you ever called me ‘Lizabeth?” She retorted. Reyes shot her a withering stare and she clamped her lips shut.</p>
<p>“Perhaps you’d be on the team too, Harding, if you weren’t such an insufferable moron. Ashe and McCree are both younger than you and have triple the skills you have each. But hey, at this rate, you’ll make security guard in about two years.” Reyes growled. Ashe snickered against her better judgment and Reyes shot her another dirty look. “Clean this up and help Cooke to the medbay.”</p>
<p>As they tidied the room, McCree took the opportunity to joke around. “Reyes absolutely hates you. I swear, that man is gonna kill you in your sleep.”</p>
<p>“Nah, I’m too good. Otherwise he’d be left with Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dumb for his team, heaven forbid.”</p>
<p>They dissolved into giggles that only intensified Tweedle-Dumb called out an “I heard that!” from the other side of the room. This would suit Ashe just fine, thank you very much.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Genji Shimada was (rescued?) brought to Blackwatch about two months after McCree and Ashe were recruited for the Elite team. He would join them, once he was done recovering. At training that day, McCree noticed that Ashe was having trouble with hand-to-hand combat. She excelled at hand-to-hand combat.</p>
<p>During their spar, McCree asked her about it.</p>
<p>“You heard about why Shimada is so... hurt, right?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, didn’t he fight his brother?”</p>
<p>Ashe nodded, and the bell dinged, signaling the start of the spar. McCree threw out a signature left hook, and Ashe ducked under it, going on the defensive. “That’s so... evil. Doing that to your own kin.” McCree tried to uppercut her, only to get his arm grabbed and twisted, putting him on his back on the mat.</p>
<p>“Is that what’s up? Shimada is goin’ ta be fine, Dr. Ziegler said so.” He tried to advance on her, but she delivered her special move: kicking out someone’s leg then hammering into their side while they were off kilter.</p>
<p>“But could you imagine? Your own brother, trying to kill you?” McCree planted his foot into her chest and pushed, forcing her back as she steadied herself for his next attack. “What do you even do then?”</p>
<p>McCree threw several punches, all of which were dodged or blocked, leaving him with not a lot of energy to counter whatever Ashe had next. “You know I’d never try to kill you. Shimada’s brother is clearly a piece of work.”</p>
<p>She landed an uppercut, sending McCree onto the mat without the strength to get up. Ashe flopped down beside him, both of them heaving from the fight. “I know, I know. We stick together. No matter what. We’re New Mexico tough.”</p>
<p>McCree grinned and Reyes walked by right at that moment. “You aren’t here to talk, you can run laps if you’re done.” He barked.</p>
<p>Ashe sighed and peeled herself off the mat with a groan. “Sure thing, boss.”</p>
<p>They jogged off towards the track, huffing already from the spar. McCree gently rammed her with his shoulder, still grinning ear-to-ear. “I’ve got your back.”</p>
<p>Ashe exhaled deeply, taking in the feeling of hope for the first time in a while. She glanced at McCree, smirked, and sprinted the next lap, leaving McCree in the dust. He shouted something behind her and kicked into high gear in an attempt to catch up with her.</p>
<hr/>
<p>“What happened to her?” Genji rudely pointed a cybernetic finger at Ashe, whose skin was an unfortunate shade of bright red.</p>
<p>“I’m right here.” She snarled. “I got a sunburn.”</p>
<p>Ashe was incredibly uncomfortable, and had her sleeves rolled up way past her elbows, in order to prevent the coarse fabric of her shirt to run against her burn. Normally, she would have just changed into a tank top, but this particular burn was more painful than usual, so she opted to just leave it until she had no choice but to brave the pain.</p>
<p>McCree had gotten a tube of aloe vera paste from Dr. Ziegler, and was helping Ashe smear the translucent goo onto her arms. “I told you to wear sunscreen.” He chided, eliciting a glare from her.</p>
<p>“Shut up.” She mumbled, propping her head up on her elbow before hissing in pain as she had forgotten that her elbow was burned, too.</p>
<p>Genji sat on the end of the bed, on the side of Ashe the McCree wasn’t sitting on. He prodded her burn lightly, and she smacked his hand away. “Watch it, Shimada.”</p>
<p>“You lost a fight to the sun. I do not have to watch anything.”</p>
<p>She tsked and grabbed the tube of aloe, rubbing a bit onto her other burn. “Just wait until it gets healed up. I’ll take you in the ring then.”</p>
<p>For the next week or so, Shimada and McCree kept running up behind her and smacking her burns, then running away shouting, “Shoulda worn sunscreen!”</p>
<p>She made a mental note to kill them both.</p>
<hr/>
<p>McCree had deemed August 11 his birthday. He didn’t know the actual date, and due to his lack of birth certificate, it seemed he never would. So he declared it to be August 11.</p>
<p>Ashe and Genji made it their personal duty to announce to every member of Blackwatch, much to McCree’s embarrassment, that it was his birthday. As they paraded behind him, shouting it to everyone who would listen, they were stopped by Reyes. “You three know you have a mission later this week. You should be training.”</p>
<p>“But Reyes,” Ashe interrupted. “It’s Jesse’s birthday. The birthday boy shouldn’t have to train today.”</p>
<p>He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose as Genji and Ashe tittered behind him. Reyes raised an eyebrow. “In that case... be at the training range in an hour or I’ll make sure none of you ever get a birthday again.”</p>
<p>McCree punched Ashe in the shoulder. “Way to go, Elizabeth.”</p>
<p>She punched him back, and Genji interjected. “Now, now. The birthday celebration will continue after the training match.”</p>
<p>“This is a terrible birthday. I’ve got you two vultures following me around and now Reyes is breathing down my neck about the mission.” He grumbled as they walked as slow as possible to the training range.</p>
<p>McCree pushed open the door, only to be met with darkness. He fumbled around the doorframe for the switch, but only came into contact with bare wall. “Damn. Hey Genji, can you—”</p>
<p>Red lights glowed from an irritated Genji’s cybernetic torso. He frowned, and held out his arms. “I hate you.”</p>
<p>McCree spotted the light switch and flipped it on, and with a series of loud clicks, the lights slowly came back on. It was then revealed that training was all a ruse, leading up to a loud “Surprise,” from the Blackwatch team, and a table surrounded with colourful balloons and cake.</p>
<p>Reyes beamed as he waved McCree over, who was still reeling from the shock. “You guys knew? Wh—I don’t know what to say.”</p>
<p>Reyes clapped him on the back. “How about eating some cake birthday boy?”</p>
<p>He sat down beside a grinning Ashe and Genji. “You two absolutely knew about this, didn’t you?”</p>
<p>“I almost blurted it out several times.” Genji informed him, digging a plastic fork into lemon cake.</p>
<p>Morrison had showed up, and even Moira had made an appearance, a rare divergence from her working in her lab, only to appear on missions. Everyone had chipped into and gotten him some gifts, too, which made his heart swell even more. Ashe handed him a small, poorly wrapped box with a new, high-end cleaning kit for his revolver, Genji passed him a bag with a very useful multi tool, and Reyes gave him a sleek, wrapped box. He tore open the paper and lifted the lid of the box. There was a beautiful orange serape inside. McCree lifted it out to admire it.</p>
<p>“Just like the movies.” He whispered as he wrapped it around his shoulders.</p>
<p>Reyes patted him on the shoulder. “Happy birthday, kid.”</p>
<p>It was the best birthday he had ever had.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Bad news,” Reyes announced, “You’re splitting up this time. I need McCree undercover and Ashe and Shimada on a personal guard for the target.”</p><p>He set down two files with a <em>thwap </em>against the metal table, sliding them to their respective agents. Ashe flipped open the page and groaned. “Him? Really? Can’t we just let him die?”</p><p>Her target, who she would be protecting, was notorious for being a womanizer. He had attempted to hit on her last time they met, despite being twice her age. Ashe did not like him in the slightest.</p><p>Reyes chuckled. “He gives us a lot of money. We can’t let him die yet.”</p><p>She grumbled something that was most certainly not family friendly, and continued scanning the file. Genji read over her shoulder. McCree opened his assignment, glancing over its contents. Ashe leaned over to get a look at his file, and suppressed a snicker.</p><p>“What?” Genji asked. Ashe’s shoulder shook from repressed laughter.</p><p>McCree scowled, and leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. “I’m undercover as a waiter.”</p><p>She snickered as McCree aimed a pinch at her shoulder at her but only caught air. “Wanna trade? You can keep the creep alive and I can sneak the tiny food off the trays.”</p><p>“No swapping.” Reyes ordered. “Just get to work.”</p>
<hr/><p>The target stood on stage, giving a speech about his generous donation to charity, though it was barely a dent upon his amassed wealth. Genji rolled his eyes offstage. Ashe stood next to him, leaned up against the wall. Her rifle was on the floor next to her, and she half-heartedly scanned the audience. “Look, I know you hate him but you have to at least try. Intel says—”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah, Talon would be here. I know. I just don’t like the guy.” She shrugged, and folded her arms. “He’s a creep. And a selfish bastard.”</p><p>“Can’t argue there.”</p><p>Ashe sighed. “He just... rubs me the wrong way. I’ve been surrounded by sketchy people all my life, and he checks every single box.”</p><p>Genji and her had similar backgrounds, him from a crime empire and her from a corrupt business. They both grew up surrounded by money, and wealth, and the consequence of wealth: terrible people. Of course, Ashe had been involved in family affairs, saw what was happening, and decided to leave. Genji never got involved in the first place. Her instincts were unrivaled when it came to finding liars.</p><p>The lull of polite applause rolled through the crowds as the target walked off stage towards them. “I think that went rather well, wouldn’t you say, dear?” He smiled at Ashe.</p><p>She scowled. “Don’t call me that.”</p><p>“Lighten up. You give me a smile and I’ll make sure you become commander one day.”</p><p>Ashe snapped. Genji stepped back, not wanting to be caught in the crossfire. She pinned his arm behind his back and slammed him against the brick wall. “If I wanted to be commander, I’d do it myself. Your survival is in my hands tonight, and it’d do ya well to remember that.”</p><p>She stalked off towards the car, and Genji snickered as he walked past the target towards it. The target rubbed his arm and followed them reluctantly. Creep.</p>
<hr/><p>Ashe was sulking for the rest of the night, even after the mission. Jesse asked Genji what was up with her. “The target was being a creep. I think he got to Ashe with one of his comments.”</p><p>“Yikes. He still alive?”</p><p>“For now. I don’t think Ashe will be escorting him anytime soon.”</p><p>“I’d hate to be him.” He chuckled. “I’m turnin’ in for the night. See ya tomorrow.”</p><p>Genji waved as Jesse left, then went to sit on the couch beside Ashe. “You okay?”</p><p>“Fine.” She growled.</p><p>“You wanna talk about it?”</p><p>“Nope.”</p><p>They sat in silence for a moment before Ashe sighed loudly. “He just irritates me to no end. What about me makes him think I would ever act pretty so he’d try and get me promoted?” She groaned and hugged a cushion into her chest. “I know it’s hard for women to get promoted in Overwatch, especially Blackwatch. But if I wanted to, I think I could do it.</p><p>“At least, I really hope I could.”</p><p>She pressed her face into the pillow and groaned “Do you think I could ever get promoted?”</p><p>“Probably. You’re smart and good at beating people up, everything they could ever want in a commander.”</p><p>Ashe smiled at him tiredly. “Thanks Genji. I mean, it’s not like Reyes is going anywhere anytime soon. I just don’t want to be a field agent forever.”</p><p>“Me neither.” He agreed. “We'll get promoted one day.”</p><p>She leaned back on the couch. The break room was modest, with a shabby couch and a table with some chairs. The main attraction as the coffee maker and the bending machine, making it the prime hangout spot during the day. This late at night, it was deserted, except for the occasional straggler popping for a coffee.</p><p>“I’m done talkin’ about me. You’ve got problems, too.”</p><p>“No way.” Genji scoffed.</p><p>Ashe grinned widely. “Oh really? So your raging crush on Jesse ain’t a problem?”</p><p>He blushed scarlet and stared at the floor while Ashe cackled. “Do you think he knows?” Genji asked.</p><p>“Nah.” She rested her arms along the top of the couch. “He’s oblivious as hell when it comes to that kinda thing. Jesse’s a menace in the field, but an absolute dope when it comes to feelings.”</p><p>“Thank goodness for that.”</p><p>“You gonna tell him?”</p><p>“Never.”</p><p>“We’ll see how long that lasts.”</p><p>Ashe stood up, and rolled her shoulders. “See ya in the Mornin’.”</p><p>She stopped in the doorway, and turned back to face Genji with a concerningly large grin. “By the way,” she purred, “he likes ya back.”</p><p>Genji buried his face in his hands as Ashe walked down the hall cackling.</p>
<hr/><p>Simply put, Ashe wasn’t pretty. She never had been, always a wiry, gawky kid who could sunburn if she sat in a window too long. All bones and lean muscles, angles where there should have been curves. And for the most part, she was fine with that. Anyone who felt the need to point those things out would discover that it was not fun to have her bony fist buried in their stomach.</p><p>She could remember two instances of actively disliking her looks: when there was girl in the Gorge, and now, when there was a girl in the medbay. More specifically, that girl was Angela Ziegler, who hated her guts. To be fair, when she first arrived, Ashe may have taunted Angela quite a bit.</p><p>“Hey Angel!” She called as she walked into the medbay. Angela scowled at the sight of her.</p><p>“It’s Dr. Ziegler to you.” Angela walked the cabinet and grabbed an orange prescription bottle.</p><p>“Whatever you say, Angel.”</p><p>She passed her the bottle with a deep frown. “You remember the rules: only one a day—”</p><p>“Even when the pain is bad. I know.” She winked at her. “Thanks for the concern, Angel.”</p><p>Angela blushed furiously, and Ashe grinned as she walked out of the medbay. Jesse was waiting for her outside. “She hates you.”</p><p>“I know.”</p><p>“And the stupid nickname.”</p><p>“Please, like you don’t have stupid pet names for Genji. How’s that goin’, by the way?”</p><p>“Fantastic, thanks for askin’.”</p><p>The walked down the hall, and Ashe read the label on her prescription. She sighed. “I hate these stupid pills.”</p><p>“You need to keep takin’ ‘em.” He reminded.</p><p>“I know, I know. They’re just annoyin’ as hell.” She shoved them into her pocket and patted Jesse’s shoulder. “Just like you.”</p><p>He scoffed and lightly shoved her. “Why do I even bother with you?”</p><p>Ashe grinned. “No idea.”</p>
<hr/><p>Genji really couldn't explain why he was in Ashe’s room. He needed to ask her something, but she hadn’t been there. So, in a brilliant moment of idiocy, he decided he’d find the answers himself and searched one of Ashe’s nightstand drawers.</p><p>It was dumb, but Genji couldn’t help himself. Ashe was secretive about her life all the time, while she read everyone else like an open book. The narrative she presented to the rest of the world was crafted and planned. He knew that she led a gang before Blackwatch, and she came from money.</p><p>His discovery promised great strides in understanding Ashe, as he found a prescription bottle half full of pills. He scammed the label. Hydrocodone.</p><p>A quick google search informed him what they were: opioids.</p><p>Not know what to do, he pulled Jesse aside after training. “Ashe is taking opioids,” he muttered in hushed tones.</p><p>His eyes narrowed. “How do you know that?”</p><p>Genji sputtered for a moment before Jesse sighed and filled in the blanks. “You went through her stuff, didn’t you?”</p><p>He nodded and stared at the ground. Jesse mumbled something about how Ashe would decimate him in combat practice if she ever found out.</p><p>“She has Chronic Pain. It flairs pretty bad sometimes.”</p><p>Somehow, that wasn’t what Genji expected at all. It wasn’t near as dramatic as he thought. He nodded again, and slipped away.</p>
<hr/><p>Ashe was awakened before her alarm by a dull pain in her left arm. She groaned as she reached over for her medication and water bottle, sending fire through her nerves, and downing a sip of water with her pill. She stared at the ceiling while the pain settled back into a gentle throbbing.</p><p>A knock came from the door. She swore under her breath. Too early. “Come on in.”</p><p>Jesse opened the door, coming in and sitting down on the bed. He had his stealth mission clothes on. Ashe swore internally as she remembered they had a mission in a few hours. “You’re late to get up today. Is it a bad day?”</p><p>“Nah.” She lied, smiling. “Just lazy.”</p><p>Jesse nodded, and stood up.  “I’ll save you some breakfast.”</p><p>“Thanks.” She called after him.</p><p>When he shut the door, Ashe shoved the blankets off, letting her feet dangle over the edge in the cold. With a deep breath, she pushed herself up and grimaced in pain. She ambled over to the dresser, and started getting ready with her good arm.</p><p>Ashe stood in the doorway, and cast a glance at the bottle. She knew better. Taking two would only be temporary relief, and opened the gateway to worse things to follow. But then, she knew better. One time. One time, and she’d never try it again. The day she would have to go without would make certain.</p><p>She shook the though from her head as she walked over to swiped it into the drawer, kicking it shut behind her as she stormed out of the room.</p>
<hr/><p>It was the worst day of her entire life. The worst pain she had felt since she first needed the pills. Reyes noticed, and sent her to her room early without her report so she could “rest up.”</p><p>She wasn’t about to fight him on this one. Ashe had been looking forward to laying on her bed and staring at the ceiling until she inevitably passed out. Her plans were interrupted, as she was stopped by Genji standing outside her room. “I know you’re taking opioids.”</p><p>She blinked. “You went through my stuff.”</p><p>“Maybe.”</p><p>“Just wait until the morning, I’ll tear you limb from limb then.”</p><p>“You only took one, right?” The skepticism in his tone made her blood boil.</p><p>“I have only taken one every single day of my life since I was fifteen. Butt out Shimada.” She hissed, jamming a finger into his chest.</p><p>Ashe slammed the door behind her, crumpling against it to contemplate all the ways to delete Genji Shimada from the planet. How dare he? She knew what she was doing, and he didn’t. Simple as that.</p><p>Peeling herself from the door, she stumbled to her bed, lowering herself down, still in her mission clothes. Too tired. She would deal with him in the morning.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Fight!” Somebody screamed down the hallway, “Ashe just socked Shimada!”</p><p>McCree groaned as he grabbed his hat to run down the hall to the commotion. Agents surrounded the tussle, chanting “Fight, fight, fight!” He pushed through the cloud, but Reyes beat him to it. Reyes yanked Genji off of Ashe, Ashe sporting a split lip and Genji, a bloody nose. “Both of you, my office, now!” He demanded, silencing the entire crowd. “The rest of you, scram! You have better things to be doing right now.”</p><p>Genji and Ashe sulked off to Reyes’ office, and McCree sighed as he left. Those two had to get over some stuff.</p>
<hr/><p>Ashe and Genji sat in the chairs across the desk from Reyes, who glared at them darkly. “What has gotten into both of you? You’re smart. You know that using your fists isn’t the answer.”</p><p>“It’s my fault,” Genji admitted, to both Reyes and Ashe’s surprise. “I provoked her by going through some of her personal belongings.”</p><p>Reyes raised an eyebrow, glancing between the two of them. “Anything to add?” He asked Ashe.</p><p>“Nope.” She folded her arms across her chest, and leaned back.</p><p>Reyes rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Okay, get out of my office and go make up. No more punching. You two are ridiculous sometimes.”</p><p>Ashe stood up quickly, and stalked out of the office, slamming the door behind her. Reyes glanced at Genji. “What the hell did you do to make her so mad?”</p><p>“I... may have gone through her drawer, found her pain medication, and accused her of being an addict.” He admitted.</p><p>Reyes scoffed. “Yeah, I’d try to kill you too.”</p><p>Genji groaned and placed his face on his hands. “I just assumed, because of her background, and she never talks about anything from before Blackwatch. I mean, I know she comes from wealth, but that’s all. Ashe doesn’t talk.”</p><p>He sighed and pulled a file out of the cabinet, passing it to Genji. Genji opened it, and glanced over the contents. “Her file?”</p><p>“You’re right that Ashe comes from money. A whole lot of it, too. It’s dirty money though, won off of extorted laborers and drug trafficking. She suspects there may be even more bad stuff. My guess is that she’s ashamed of her past, and that she almost went down the same path without realizing it.” Reyes explained while Genji flipped through the file. “I’m sure she would have succeeded in setting up her gang. She’s smart enough, and ruthless enough. But she didn’t even really recognize how wrong it was until she was arrested. It was a labor of love to her, setting up a future for her and Jesse to finally control their futures.”</p><p>Genji read in stunned silence. She had a list of felonies attached to her name, and a warrant for her arrest. All he had known was that she had been part of a gang before Blackwatch. He didn’t know she was the one leading it.</p><p>They were more alike than they realized. Genji came from a crime family, and Ashe came from a family rich off crime. In theory, she should have felt comfortable telling him all this, since he was the same, but she didn’t.</p><p>“Don’t tell her I let you read that.” Reyes instructed. “She’ll try to kill me too.”</p><p>Genji nodded and stood up. “Thank you.”</p><p>He walked out the door with a new idea of his teammate. And he also learned not underestimate her right hook.</p><p>Genji knocked on the door to McCree’s room. He suspected that Ashe would be in there, too. It was her go to place. He was pretty sure that they had managed to keep a stash of weed in there, too.</p><p>McCree opened the door a crack, confirming that Ashe was in there, and he didn’t want her to see Genji. “Yeah?”</p><p>“I need to say sorry.”</p><p>“Ashe needs a while to cool down. Trust me, I’m with you, but I also value your life,” He advised, shutting the door. “I’m sorry ‘bout this.”</p><p>Genji sighed at the closed door.</p>
<hr/><p>McCree turned back to where Ashe was sitting incorrectly in a desk chair. “Was that Genji?”</p><p>“Yeah,” he admitted, “He wanted to apologize.”</p><p>She groaned, forcing herself out of the chair. “I guess I should go apologize, too.” Ashe mumbled.</p><p>“No punching him, okay?”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah, I already got the ‘no violence’ talk.” She strode out the door to chase Genji down. “Hey!”</p><p>He turned around to face her. “I wanted to say I’m sorry... for punchin’ you in the face. I mighta overreacted.” Ashe avoided his eyes, staring off at the floor.</p><p>“I need to apologize, too. I shouldn’t have gone through your stuff and assumed things. I definitely deserved that punch.”</p><p>She grinned, and clapped Genji on the shoulder. “Thanks.”</p><p>McCree poked his head out of his door. “Genji, are ya good?” He called.</p><p>“I did not get punched.” Genji replied, chuckling to himself.</p><p>Ashe scowled. “Let’s go. We have to go get ready for the mission.”</p>
<hr/><p>It was a big one. They had to avenge Gérard, though, and this seemed like the perfect way. Blackwatch would take down Talon, tonight.</p><p>If a stranger had been in the transport with the team, they would have never guessed this mission was so crucial, what with all the joking around. “Hey Moira!” McCree called.</p><p>Moira looked up from her book that Ashe suspected was just a manga placed in a book cover, clearly tired of this. “What?”</p><p>“Wanna hear me speak Italian?” She grimaced at his mispronunciation of Italian.</p><p>“It’s Eh-talian, not Aye-talian.”</p><p>He ignored her, and instead butchered some basic Italian phrases while Moira cringed and Ashe and Genji were incapacitated with laughter. “Don’t ever do that again.”</p><p>“Oh come on, I practiced!”</p><p>Ashe patted him on the shoulder. “Just keep at it, you’ll get it.”</p><p>“Be serious,” Reyes barked at them,“This is important. We can’t afford to screw this up.”</p><p>“Come on, boss, when have we ever screwed up a mission?” She joked.</p><p>He raised an eyebrow at her. “You want a list?”</p><p>Ashe rolled her eyes. “Let me rephrase: screwed up a mission in a way that couldn’t be fixed?”</p><p>The transport landed with a thud, and the doors whooshed open. The team stepped out into the night air, and made their way towards the target. Expertly defeating all the guards, Reyes kicked down the doors and they had the target, defenseless and alone.</p><p>Genji had always been the volatile one. The most likely to go off and murder someone out of spite. Ashe was second, but only because she tended to be the one starting to fight. Nobody expected Reyes to take the bait and fire into the targets head, sending him flying through the window.</p><p>McCree shouted something at him, but Ashe couldn’t hear. She felt like she was miles away, still reeling from what had just happened. <em>No, </em>she thought, <em>no, no, no. We had a plan. This can’t be happening.</em></p><p>They fought their way out of Rialto, and not unscathed. Genji took a bullet to the shoulder (his cybernetics one) from a heavy, and Ashe took a hit in the thigh from a sniper she hadn’t seen. One she hadn’t been expecting to see because <em>they had a plan.</em></p><p>The next day, it was all over the news. The authorities had McCree, Reyes, and Moira’s faces. Thankfully, there was only a partial shot of Genji’s, and she had been far enough back that she wasn’t caught in the camera lens. It was the first time she had seen Reyes get yelled at, by just about everyone in charge. Ashe and McCree watched through the one-way glass they had once been on the other side of.</p><p>“What d’you think’ll happen?” McCree asked earnestly.</p><p>She shook her head. “Nothin’ good. Best case scenario, the higher ups make a statement denying the existence of Blackwatch and we become a conspiracy theory. Worst case, we get shut down and got to prison. Overwatch might take Genji, and Reyes’ll retire early. Moira’s figure somethin’ out. But there no where left for us to run.”</p><p>“Maybe they’ll go easy on us since we’ve been workin’ for them.”</p><p>“Nah. They’ve been lookin’ for us since the day we disappeared from custody. Overwatch won’t stand by us if it’ll hurt their reputation.”</p><p>McCree sighed. “Yeah, I figured. Morrison is too much of a wuss to stand up to the Board.”</p><p>She glanced up and saw the worry etched into McCree’s eyes. Ashe bumped him with her shoulder. “That’s worst case. It probably won’t get that bad. ‘Sides, we’re New Mexico tough, remember?” She smiled weakly.</p><p>McCree nodded, smiling back. “Yeah. We’ll look out for each other. And Genji.”</p><p>“And Genji.”</p>
<hr/><p>Genji, McCree, and Ashe congregated in Reyes’ office. It was silent, for once. The tension was palpable as they awaited news.</p><p>Moira had been terminated a few days prior. Clean-up of Overwatch’s shabby reputation. Morrison claimed he had no idea of Reyes’ activities in his press statement. It was a half-truth. He turned a blind eye to anything that he thought went against his morals. And now, Reyes had been called into a meeting.</p><p>The door opened, and all three leapt up. Reyes wearily stepped in, shutting the door behind him. “What did they want?” Genji asked.</p><p>He groaned. “They want me to retire early. Blackwatch is being absorbed by Overwatch, so they’ve given us a year to wrap up before we’re disbanded.”</p><p>There was more silence as everyone contemplated what this meant. Ashe piped in, “It could be worse.”</p><p>“Yeah, well it could also be better.” McCree spat, falling backwards onto the couch.</p><p>Reyes rubbed the bridge of his nose. “This is all my fault. If I hadn’t shot him...”</p><p>“Yeah, it is your fault,” McCree snapped, “You just couldn’t help yourself, and now we’re in danger of gettin’ tossed back into the prison you promised to keep up outta.”</p><p>“I’m sure they will want to keep you in the field, what with your skills—” Genji started to try to comfort McCree, but was interrupted.</p><p>“Overwatch doesn’t give a damn about my skills, all they’re gonna see is a criminal who’ll hurt their precious reputation. They won’t hesitate to throw me or Ashe into a maximum security prison and throw away the key,” He buried his head in his hands, pulling at his hair, “It’s over.”</p><p>“It’s not over,” Reyes insisted, “I can get them to give you three job security in exchange for me going quietly. They wouldn’t dare refuse because the want me quiet.”</p><p>“Whatever,” McCree mumbled, storming out of the office. He slammed the door behind him.</p><p>Genji rushed to comfort him, leaving Ashe and Reyes alone. He flopped into his desk chair. “Is there a chance they’ll revoke our protections?” She asked.</p><p>“Yeah,” he admitted. “But if I have anything to do with it, then I’ll make sure they’ll at least pardon you.”</p><p>Ashe nodded, opening up the door. “I’ll see ya around, boss.” She walked out into the hallway, and made it back to her room before collapsing against the door and letting the tears fall.</p><p>It had all gone so wrong, so fast.</p>
<hr/><p>A consensus was reached. Reyes would keep his position, but Blackwatch would have a new supervisor. A babysitter, to make sure that their actions were sanctioned by Overwatch. “Sanctioned by Overwatch” did not mean legal, as one may have expected, but instead serving Overwatch’s interests. Blackwatch became their glorified illegal errand boy.</p><p>The mission shifted. It was no longer “any means to achieve justice” and was now “all the shitty, under-the-table things Overwatch had wanted to get their greedy little fingers into.”</p><p>The members of Blackwatch were disgusted. Instead of assassinating the leaders of terrorist organizations, they took bribes from them, in exchange for amnesty or to look the other direction. Corporations paid them off the keep their business records hidden, and they protected the criminals with enough cash to keep them quiet.</p><p>The morale was low. Ashe kept spirits up among her, McCree, and Genji by pulling off pranks, like gluing all the mugs to the ceiling of the break room, or putting Reyes keys into a vending machine behind all the barbecue chips (which he hated) so he would wind up with eight bags of chips. It wasn’t enough to pull McCree out of his slump.</p><p>Genji couldn’t even raise his spirits. No amount of secret dates on the roof could bring back the lively man that McCree was before Rialto. He was pessimistic, and irritable. He wasn’t McCree.</p><p>Ashe didn’t love this new change, but it was better than being jobless, or worse, imprisoned. She could vomit at her actions, but McCree and her were provided for, and they were together. Besides, she thought they were making headway in getting Overwatch to back out. By following their orders, Overwatch was starting to loosen their chokehold on Blackwatch’s actions, and move towards letting them resume business like before.</p><p>All that changed as well.</p><p>She was awakened by someone sneaking down the hall. Suspecting an intruder, she peeked out into the hall. Imagine her surprise to find that it was McCree, his bag slung over his shoulder, wrapped in his serape. He turned, and saw her. A quick glance could tell anyone what he was doing.</p><p>“You’re leavin’?”</p><p>He stared at the floor. “This isn't what we signed up for. I don’t wanna be a part of it.”</p><p>“We signed up for stayin’ outta prison,” She snapped, “and we signed up for stickin’ together. This is our family, Jess.”</p><p>“I can’t stand by while Blackwatch becomes so unrecognizable.”</p><p>“Then try to change it! Don’t you run out on me because things are a little tough.”</p><p>“The minute we get found out by the public, they’re shuttin’ us down. You think they’ll keep a crime division, and a bunch a’ criminals around? All they care about is their public opinion, and I’m not stickin’ around to get stuck back in a jail cell.”</p><p>“Reyes promised—”</p><p>“Reyes is gettin’ pushed out,” McCree interjected, “He failed all of us. We don’t have to stick around for the fall out.”</p><p>Ashe stared at her best friend in stunned silence. She scoffed. “What about Genji? Did you tell him that you’re skippin’ town because you’re scared?”</p><p>“I wrote him a note,” McCree mumbled. “Here, I wrote you one, too. I was gonna slip it under your door.”</p><p>He stepped towards her to hand her an envelope, but Ashe struck him across the face. “You’re such a jackass!” She hissed, “Genji would follow you to the end of the world, and all you can manage is a note? You couldn’t even tell him in person?”</p><p>“If I did that, I wouldn’t have been able to leave at all—”</p><p>“Good!” Ashe shouted, a sob threatening to give away her despair, “Maybe then you’d see how cowardly it is to scurry off with your tail between your legs!”</p><p>McCree scowled and pulled the brim of his hat down. “Don’t try to stop me. I’m doin’ this.”</p><p>She snatched the enveloped out of his hands, crinkling it in her fist. “Fine. Get out of here, you coward.”</p><p>Ashe didn’t watch him go. She turned, slamming the door behind her, and went back into her room. Ashe caught sight of her miserable, tear-streaked face in the mirror. Her face was gaunt, and she had dark circles under her eyes. She scowled, and looked at the wrinkled envelope in her hands.</p><p>Her name had been scrawled across the back in McCree’s chicken scratch. She thought about what he had written inside. An “I’m sorry?” Maybe a half-assed explanation as to why he was ditching the people he had called a family all of the sudden. She knew Blackwatch was little screwed up right now, but they were her family. Ashe intended to stick with them until the end. She had intended to stick with McCree.</p><p>In a moment of rage, she tore the envelope down the center again and again, leaving only paper scraps detailing why her best friend was gone. Ashe grabbed an empty box of mints off her desk, and stuffed the scraps inside. All that was left of McCree were a few little pieces of paper in a metal box, a few photographs, and a heart full of memories.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry it’s so late, but this chapter ended up being 40% of the whole fic. I needed to take a little break and get more inspiration, but now I’m back on my bullshit.<br/>~Lee</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Genji woke up, something wasn’t right. It was quiet, no Ashe banging on the door telling him that he was late. More importantly, he was 90% sure Jesse had spent the night. But he was alone.</p><p>He brushed it off as Jesse had something to do and was too sweet to wake him up. Genji sat up, and began reattaching his cybernetics. He walked towards his door, but stopped at the sight of an envelope, with his name scrawled across the back.</p><p>It was definitely Jesse’s handwriting, so he opened it, unfolding the paper inside.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>Dear Genji,</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you this in person, but it’s better this way. I’ve left Blackwatch, and I’m not coming back. I refuse to stand by and watch what used to be my family change so much.</em><br/>
<br/>
<em>All my love,</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>Jesse</em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>All these years, all these wonderful, stupid years. And he could just throw them away in three sentences. Genji folded the letter back up, and stuffed it into its envelope. He knew Jesse meant well, and thought that the letter would cover up for his mistakes. But Jesse was no poet. He didn’t understand how his callousness had devastated Genji.</p><p>Genji, still reeling from shock, laid back down on his bed, facing the wall. He let himself cry for a while. He was owed that much, at least.</p>
<hr/><p>Reyes found Ashe in the break room, attempting to punch a hole in the punching bag. “What did that thing do to you?” He poured coffee into his “Best Dad” mug.</p><p>Ashe stopped, lowering her fists, panting. “Jesse’s gone.”</p><p>He stopped pouring to look at her. She was disheveled, button down crinkled and untucked, with dark bags under her eyes. “Like... defected gone?”</p><p>“What other gone would I mean?” She spat, shooting him a tired glare.</p><p>Reyes set down the coffee pot. “Does Genji know?”</p><p>“I don’t know,” Ashe snapped, “Believe it or not, I don’t have all the answers.”</p><p>“Watch your tone,” He warned.</p><p>She grunted, focusing her attention on the floor. “I’m gonna go check on Genji.”</p><p>Reyes sighed as she rushed out, grabbing her jacket off a chair. He stared into his coffee. Jesse McCree, defected? It seemed unreal, but he had no doubt it was true. McCree had been unsatisfied with how Blackwatch was being run now. He hated that Overwatch had a chokehold on all missions. But to up and leave one night, that wasn’t McCree.</p><p>He downed his coffee. There was so much work to do still.</p>
<hr/><p>Ashe knocked on the door. “Go away,” Genji mumbled from the other side.</p><p>She did not go away, and opened the door. Genji was curled up on the bed, facing the wall. He sniffled as she shut the door. “I said go away.”</p><p>“You know me, Genji. I ain’t the best at listenin’ to orders,” Ashe joked half-heartedly, sitting down at the end of the bed.</p><p>She reached over to pat his arm. “You didn’t deserve that. No one deserves what Jesse did.”</p><p>“He’s—He’s so <em>stupid </em>sometimes. How could he possibly think that a note would fix it?” He sat up, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand.</p><p>Ashe put an arm around him, leaning his head against her shoulder. “He does love you,” she reassured, “He’s just really, really stupid.”</p><p>Genji chuckled weakly. It was just last night that he was so sure that everything was great. He and Jesse had been laughing, and joking, and all was okay for a little while. But he had to go and ruin it, because Jesse was too good for Blackwatch. “I hate Overwatch. If they had stuck to their PR plot, then Jesse never would have felt that way,” he said.</p><p>“How times change, huh? We used to be the branch that “operated outside the law.” Now look at us, we were the good guys compared to Overwatch. It’s so... corrupt now. Even Jack knows it.”</p><p>“It’s like I’m a kid again, the “good guys”take money from the bad guys, and the “bad guys” are the ones trying to help,” Genji lamented.</p><p>Ashe’s lips quirked upwards in a smile. “Huh. Never thought I’d be back there.” She stared at her hands for a bit. “You know how I got into Blackwatch, right?”</p><p>“Yeah,” he admitted. “Reyes filled me in a while back.”</p><p>“So you know about Deadlock.” Her stare became distant as she looked up at the wall.</p><p>“You were young.”</p><p>“I was dumb. I thought it was the perfect solution.” She picked at the hem on her shirt. “It was perfect, then. My parents were saints in the eyes of the public. No one saw the things they were in. Everyone saw the generous donations, the charity balls, the smiling family photos. They never really saw me, except for when my mother decreed I would. She had a plan for me, that I would marry rich, and then force my own fate on my kid.”</p><p>Genji snickered. “You, married? I’d like to see that some day.”</p><p>Ashe scoffed and lightly shoved him. “I ran away when I was sixteen. Started the gang at seventeen. Jesse was still just a baby then, and I—” her voice cracked.</p><p>“I roped him in. It’s my fault he’s got a damn bounty on his head, he was just a kid—”</p><p>“He made his choice, Ashe. He always told me how you got him here, working with Blackwatch and changing the world,” He insisted, lacing his fingers between hers.</p><p>“Fat load of good it did him.”</p><p>“He never blamed you for any of this. Even if you had told him to back off, and to quit, he would have just hung on tighter. Jesse knew what he was doing.”</p><p>Ashe wiped an unspilled tear from her eye. “Dammit, I’m supposed to be comfortin’ you,” she chuckled.</p><p>Genji prodded her in the shoulder. “We both get to be sad today.”</p><p>“What about you? You were yakuza at one point, right? I gave you my sob story.”</p><p>“I was never part of the clan. I was a bystander, living lavishly off of dirty money.” He leaned back, locking eyes with Ashe. “That’s worse than yours, I think.”</p><p>“Nah, I was a spoiled rich kid, too. We’re both brats, aren’t we?”</p><p>“I guess we are.”</p><p>Ashe stared ahead for a moment, thinking. “Let’s do somethin’ drastic.”</p><p>“Get a tattoo drastic or commit arson drastic? I never know with you.”</p><p>“Not a tattoo, I already got lotsa those. I’m gonna shave my head.”</p><p>“Do not do that.”</p><p>“Stop me.”</p><p>“Angie wouldn’t appreciate it,” he teased with a wide grin on his face.</p><p>Ashe scowled and shoved a snickering Genji. “Fine. Maybe I’ll just cut it, then,” she decided.</p><p>“I want to dye my hair,” Genji announced, nodding. “Like it was before my brother...”</p><p>“What color was it?”</p><p>“Bright green.”</p><p>She snorted, dissolving into giggles. “Oh come on, it wasn’t that bad. To be fair, it looked really good whenever I was younger,” he insisted.</p><p>“I’m gonna need t’see a picture of that.”</p><p>“Hold on.” Genji scowled, standing up to search his desk drawers.</p><p>He held up the paper in victory, and handed it to Ashe. She nodded. “Still ridiculous. But I think you should go for it.” Ashe grinned, pushing herself off the bed. “To the Walmart!”</p>
<hr/><p>Ashe held up her phone as she scanned the hair dye aisle. Genji was on the other end of a video call as she pointed at different colors. “Not that one,” he directed, “the one next to it.”</p><p>She scanned over the label. “Should I grab a bleach kit too?”</p><p>“Obviously.”</p><p>Ashe rolled her eyes as she grabbed the box. “Hey, since you’re albino, I bet you could dye your hair any color you wanted,” Genji remarked.</p><p>She snorted. “Yeah, right.”</p><p>“I mean it. It’s like free bleach.”</p><p>“Would it look stupid whenever it grows out, though? It’s pretty weird to have white roots.”</p><p>“Just do semi-permanent, then,” He suggested. “Come on, please? It would look so pretty.”</p><p>“What color would I even do?” Ashe glanced up and down the color aisle, trying to imagine herself with any of the colors in her hair. “I can’t go that dark, at least, not without giving someone a fright.”</p><p>“What about red? Or auburn, I bet you’d be gorgeous with auburn.”</p><p>She frowned, looking at the different colors of auburn. “Do we want semi- or demi-permanent?”</p><p>Genji celebrated on the other end of the line. “Demi. It’ll wash out faster.”</p><p>Ashe grabbed another box and speed-walked to the check out line with her two colors of dye and a bleach kit. “If I look like a clown, I’m gonna end you.”</p>
<hr/><p>Genji got to work mixing the bleach kit up, while Ashe stared at her reflection in the mirror, scissors in hand. She mentally marked where she wanted to cut, and began to snip away. In all fairness, there was a reason Ashe had never cut her own hair before this, and why she opted to keep it long for so long. It was much easier to trim up the ends every once in a while.</p><p>When she was done, it was much lighter. A little uneven around the bottom, but in a way that suited her. Genji had finished with his dye, and had his hair in a plastic shower cap in order to let it set. “Your turn.” He had a malicious gleam in his eye.</p><p>“I dunno about this, I like it the way it is.”</p><p>“Trust me, it’ll be good. If not, it’s the kind that washes out in a few weeks,” Genji insisted.</p><p>He pulled her hair up into a bun on top of her head, and stirred the dye in a small tray. Pulling sections from the bun, he painted the dye on from the roots to the ends, one section at a time. By the end, Ashe thought she resembled a wet rat as Genji tied it back up in a bun, pulling another plastic shower cap over it. “Now, we wait.”</p><p>Thirty minutes later, Genji removed the caps to reveal his handiwork. His hair was a vibrant shade of green that ensured he would never be able to blend into the shadows again, and Ashe’s was a handsome shade of auburn that complimented her pasty complexion. She studied the unfamiliar reflection.</p><p>“I told you it would show up well,” he boasted.</p><p>“I concede, you were right,” Ashe chuckled, rolling her eyes.</p><p>Behind them, a deep, “What on God’s green earth did you two do?” sounded.</p><p>They whirled around, where Reyes was standing in the door of the bathroom. Ashe burst out laughing as Genji shrugged him off. “We’re being dramatic, you know us.”</p><p>“Like, two hours ago, you two were sniffling messes. And now you’re...” he gestured to the freshly dyed hair. “Are you okay?”</p><p>“Perfectly fine, an’ absolutely stylish, thank you,” Ashe said, shoving her hands in her pockets. “Let’s go show Angie.”</p><p>Reyes gawked as they strutted past him to show off the result of their mild breakdowns.</p>
<hr/><p>About a month later, Genji was sufficiently numb to McCree’s defection. Along with all the changes to his appearance, between the green hair and new cybernetics that Angela had finished, he quite literally felt like a new man. Of course, he still couldn’t look at himself in the mirror without his mind reminding himself of where his brother had scarred him. With McCree around, constantly insisting that he was beautiful anyways, he had taken some steps back.</p><p>Ashe tried her best, but it wasn’t the same. Not the same as the way McCree had worshipped his scars. He fell back into that sense of self-loathing that came whenever the middle of his back was constantly in pain with every step he took.</p><p>But this, <em>this promised results. </em>It was a big step, but it might be one he needed to take. There was only one problem, though. How do you tell the person who is there for you that you can’t be there for them?</p><p>He asked Ashe to come and have a talk with him. She knew it was serious.</p><p>Ashe fell back into the couch next to him. “What’s up?”</p><p>“There’s a really great opportunity for me... to study with Shambali monks for a time. They’re all Omnics, so I was thinking that...” he trailed off, gesturing towards his cybernetic body.</p><p>Her face became mask-like for a moment, before she nodded, smiling. “You need to do this. You should,” Ashe encouraged.</p><p>“But will you be okay? Without me? It would just be you and Reyes for... a long time.”</p><p>“I’m not the one you need to worry about there. Might make Reyes just drop dead if you tell him that it’ll just be me an’ him,” she joked, lighting a cigarette.</p><p>Genji smiled. “I’ll miss you. I promise I’ll write, at least once a week.”</p><p>She waved him off, exhaling smoke from her nose. “Don’t worry about me, go get enlightened on a mountain or somethin’.”</p><p>Ashe kept up her lazy grin until the day Genji boarded the transport. As she waved him off, the doors began to close. Just when she thought she was out of sight, her mask dropped again. She wasn’t smiling confidently anymore. Her eyes had lost their mischief. He wondered how long she had been lying.</p>
<hr/><p>It was lonely as hell without Genji around. The hair dye washed out a few days ago, returning her to her orignal, plain white. Without much of a clue as to what to do, she wandered up to the roof, where she could smoke in peace without Reyes getting onto her.</p><p>Ashe’s quiet smoke break was interrupted by the rusty roof access door swinging open. She glanced behind her to see the lovely face of one Angela Ziegler. “Hey Angel,” she called, “What brings you up here?”</p><p>“I just came to see you.” Angela lowered herself down next to Ashe.</p><p>She pinched Ashe’s cigarette between her fingers, pulling it away from her face. “You know how bad this is for you.”</p><p>“C’mon, Angel,” Ashe pleaded as she put the cigarette out against the ground.</p><p>“I mean it, it’s for your own good,” Angela insisted.</p><p>Ashe huffed, resting her head on her hand and smiling. Angela placed her hand on top of Ashe's. "I know Genji leaving is hard on you."</p><p>"Is that what this is about? I'm fine, I swear. Genji needed to go, it was best for him."</p><p>"But what about you? You need something, too. Take some time off, see the world."</p><p>"I see plenty of the world," She said. </p><p>Angela stared deep into her eyes. "You need to see the world without having to fight your way out. There needs to be something for you outside of missions."</p><p>Ashe pulled her hand back, standing up abruptly. "I already said I was fine. I like my work, okay? I don't need anythin'."</p><p>Angela grabbed her arm before she could leave. "What about me?"</p><p>"What?" She froze, looking down at her. "What did you say?"</p><p>Angela stared at the ground, face flushed red, as she pulled Ashe back down. "Would... I be enough to pull you away from your work?" She asked.</p><p>"Angela..."</p><p>"Answer the question."</p><p>"Of course you would. You are perfect in every way, smart, and beautiful, and kind. But I'm not good enough for <em>you.</em> I've killed, I have more blood on my hands than you even know."</p><p>"I don't think you get to decide what's good enough for me, Elizabeth Ashe. I want <em>you, </em>you are more than enough." She pulled Ashe closer, resting her head on her shoulder. "Can we travel the world together? Go to Europe, and Asia, and South America, together. Could that ever be in the future for us?"</p><p>Ashe sighed, staring out at the sky ahead of her. "I don't think I've ever wanted anythin' more in my life."</p><p>Angela stayed nestled up against her arm. "I love you, Elizabeth."</p><p>"I love you too, Angel."</p><p>Her happiness was short-lived.</p><p>Less than a week later, it all fell apart. Someone had shouted something from the hall, something about needing to evacuate. In a hurry, she grabbed one of her fake I.D.s, and the little box of mints that contained McCree's letter. She pulled one of the evacuating agents aside and demanded to know what was happening. "They're saying it's Reyes and Morrison, they had some kind of fight."</p><p>Ashe let go of the person she had grabbed and ran down the hall. She never did find out exactly what had transpired, because a wall of heat and flames and glass threw her back. An explosion. In their petty rivalry, Reyes and Morrison had caused a goddamn explosion. Her ears were ringing as she blinked the blurriness out of her eyes. Flames surrounded the hall.</p><p>"Angela," she croaked, pushing herself off the ground. "Angela!"</p><p>She stumbled to the medbay, where Angela was warding off the fire with a fire extinguisher. "Angela, we need to leave." Ashe grabbed Angela's arm, pulling her towards the exit.</p><p>"What happened?"</p><p>"They think it's Reyes and Morrison."</p><p>Angela coughed, and Ashe handed her her jacket. "Hold this over your nose and mouth."</p><p>She pushed open the door, coughing violently. Three other agents rushed over to check on them. There was chatter amongst the evacuees, as they stood clustered in the night. Some said it was Talon, others that it was the fight, and some even thought that Blackwatch had sabotaged Overwatch in some twisted revenge. Firefighters swarmed the building, dousing the fires, while EMTs checked over all the people. Ashe held onto Angela in the middle of all the chaos.</p><p>A shiny, black car pulled up, followed by several others. "It's Interpol," Angela explained. "And the American FBI."</p><p>Ashe cursed under her breath. It didn't escape her notice that several other members of Blackwatch had slipped away amongst the confusion. Angela gripped her shoulders. "We need to get out of here." </p><p>"No, you need to stay. They'll take care of you."</p><p>"I'm not being separated from you again, Elizabeth."</p><p>"It'll all be okay, Angel," Ashe assured her, smiling forcibly. "We still got that trip, remember? We're gonna see the world, without any interference from Overwatch or Blackwatch."</p><p>Tears rolled down Angela's cheeks as she gripped Ashe's face, pressing her lips against hers. "You promise?"</p><p>"Yeah," She lied. "I promise."</p><p>Ashe slowly pulled back from Angela's embrace, and vanished among the chaos. She looked back once, as a member of the FBI walked up to Angela with an EMT, showing her pictures of the people they were looking for on a tablet while the EMT checked over her. Letting out a deep breath, she slipped into the crowd of spectators and away from the scene.</p><p>For the first time in her life, she had no plan. What could she even do now? There was no way she could try to get to Genji, all the way in Nepal. It's not like a wanted criminal could just board a plane, and she couldn't try to use her fake I.D. until her picture was out of the news. Reyes was... well, she didn't really know quite yet. And she had no intention to try and contact McCree. Her best bet was to lay low in the dinky town outside of base, try and nab a crappy job for a while until she had enough cash to get the hell out of here. As she stumbled towards town, her hand bumped the box in her pocket. It looked like she might have to lay down her pride after all, since McCree was the only one she had left. She checked into a cheap motel, collapsing on the bed. Ashe didn't worry about them turning her in, since she could probably pay them off. They would also be dealing with an influx of ex-Blackwatch members trying to find a place to stay.</p><p>Collapsing onto the bed, the metal box in her pocket jabbed her in the leg. With a groan, she peeled herself off of the bed, and dumped the contents of the box onto the wobbly table provided to her by the motel. Piecing the scraps together, she made out what was written.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>"Dear Ashe,</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>I'm really sorry about this. You are my only family. I've got to get out of here. I'll probably go back home for a little while. Maybe we'll find each other at some point in the future.</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>All my love,</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>McCree"</em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p>She groaned as she put her head on the table. So he was back in New Mexico at some point last year. Who knows, maybe he was still in the area. Either way, it would have to do. Now all she needed was some cash, and to not be recognized on the way down. Not like she exactly blended in, albinism and all. A bitter memory struck her.</p><p>The day she and Genji dyed their hair, since they didn't want to confront their feelings about McCree's defection. She laughed dryly to herself. How stupid that it would actually have come in handy that she had learned to dye hair. Angela had remarked about how much she loved Ashe's hair like that.</p>
<hr/><p>Ashe hopped off the bus, breathing in the heat and dust from beneath the brim of her hat. Home. Or at least, it had once been a home.</p><p>She had made her way from Switzerland to New Mexico, under the guise of Daisy Collins, an alias she had used in the past. One plane ride, three buses, and numerous hitch-hiked car rides later, she was back. Her hastily dyed brown hair allowed her to blend in and sneak around. After all, the FBI were looking for an albino. They weren't looking for a nobody with a fake I.D. Ashe walked through the street, bag slung over one shoulder, until she made it to a dingy, decrepit building. A neon sign that simply read "BAR" above it was the only hint at it's occupants. In her youth, it had been a den of smugglers and criminals. Her kind of people. If anyone had any info on McCree, they were here.</p><p>Ashe sat down at the counter, and ordered a whiskey. The omnic bartender handed her a cloudy glass full of the amber liquid. Sipping her drink, she glanced around the room. Her eyes landed on an orange serape with gold detailing. It couldn't be that easy.</p><p>The figure in the serape chatted with another man in a neat suit. Definitely not the type to bum around these parts of town. There was an exchange of some papers and money, and the figure stood up with a tip of his hat, and walked out the door.</p><p>Ashe finished her drink, grabbing her gun from her bag. The figure in the serape stood, facing the empty landscape in the searing sun, smoking a cigar. It really, really couldn't be that easy. "Well, well," She drawled. "Jesse McCree, as I live and breathe."</p><p>He whirled around in shock. McCree looked the same as the night he had left, now with a fuller beard, and some of the muscle mass on his body replaced by fat. He looked whole again. "Ashe? What the hell did ya do to your hair?" He asked.</p><p>She scowled, propping her rifle on her shoulder. "I'm a wanted woman, McCree. I ain't about to make it easy for 'em."</p><p>McCree glanced behind her. Ashe rolled her eyes. "Genji ain't here."</p><p>He untensed. "I... I heard about what happened. In Switzerland." McCree took a long drag on his cigar. "Is he really...?"</p><p>"Yeah. Reyes is dead. So's Morrison," She said plainly.</p><p>"I'm sorry."</p><p>"About what? The explosion or the disappearin' act you tried to pull? 'Cause I'm only mad at you for one of those."</p><p>"About leavin'. I had to, but I should have given you and Genji an explanation."</p><p>She sighed. "You really hurt him. All the progress he was makin' was pointless after you left," Ashe put one of her hands in her pockets.</p><p>"Do you know where he is?" McCree took another deep breath of smoke.</p><p>"He's in Nepal. Studyin' with some Shambali monks. We haven't had any contact since then."</p><p>Ashe walked up beside him, looking out into the desert. McCree offered her a cigar. "Nah, I promised Angie I'd lay off."</p><p>"How is Angie, by the way?"</p><p>"I'm not here to catch up."</p><p>He frowned and directed his gaze downward. "I've been doin' bounty huntin'. Takin' jobs from the authorities and bringin' in the guys they're after. It pays alright."</p><p>She scoffed. “Tch. Maybe Overwatch woulda taken you.”</p><p>“Nah, they don’t want the PR nightmare that comes with me,” Jesse said, smiling familiarly. “You wanna explain how you got all the way back here?”</p><p>“They were goin’ around, pickin’ up the people that were wanted. I mean, the FBI was there, Interpol... they really wanted to get somethin’ outta this. Me an’ a buncha other guys slipped out, and booked it. I grabbed a fake ID before I got out, so I had at least enough to fake my way far enough that they wouldn’t catch me.”</p><p>“And yet, you came back here, instead of vanishing to some country where they couldn’t get ya. Why?”</p><p>“Your letter. You said you were goin’ home, I figured I should too.”</p><p>He gestured to her hair. “So that’s why you did this?”</p><p>“Kinda,” she explained. “I cut it a while back. Genji helped me put in some semi-permanent dye a few months back, so that gave me the idea to dye it again. To blend in, y’know?”</p><p>McCree nodded. “And now you’re here,” he concluded. “What now?”</p><p>“I’m still decidin’.”</p><p>“You’re always welcome to join me on my next hunt. I wouldn’t mind havin’ someone to split rent with.”</p><p>She leaned her rifle against a wall, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Maybe. Seems like the best path.”</p><p>“That’d be nice. Ashe and McCree, back at it in the Gorge.”</p><p>Ashe laughed. It had been so long since she had a reason to laugh. “We always were trouble makers, weren’t we? Seems so weird to be workin’ for the law instead of against it.”</p><p>“A lot’s changed,” McCree shrugged, putting out the nub of his cigar under his boot. “Come on, you can crash at my place tonight.”</p><p>Ashe took one last look at the sun setting over the desert. “Alright. Let’s go home.”</p><p> </p>
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